Shower Curtaingate 2015

Happy Friday Y’all! It’s been a wacky however-many-weeks since school started. I think I said in my Back to School Post …and I quote…. “Now I hope to have more time again to work, blog, get organized, monogram stuff, clean out closets and all that other stuff we put on our to-do list for when the kiddies go back to school!” Blah blah blah yeah that was a joke. Me thinking I would have more time sounded like a good idea! I forgot allllll about laundry, bible study, library duty, recess duty, morning runs to Target, 12:30 carpool, 3:20 carpool, 5:30 soccer, 7:00 soccer, 4:00 soccer, 5:15 soccer, etc. I haven’t really had time to organize or clean out anything. But, I have had time for Shower Curtaingate 2015, which consumed a week or two of my embroidery life.

I have a sweet customer that I’ve been doing monogramming for for YEARS. She dropped off this cute Pottery Barn Kids shower curtain for me to monogram, and since I’ve done a shower curtain or two in my career, I had little no worries. I formatted the humongous “B” in my Monogram Wizard Plus software (Library font) and made it as big as I could get it to fit my 11.8″ x 7.9″ hoop. I *carefully* hooped the shower curtain and put it on my machine to stitch. I even took a picture and put it on Instagram! The first attempt was 84 minutes and 42,852 stitches. About 10,000 stitches in, I realized that part of the shower curtain was being SEWN in to the B on my machine from underneath!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was SO CAREFUL in making sure the machine would not sew the shower curtain, and yet it did!!!!

Below is a photo AFTER I had to cut the shower curtain loose from my hoop. Even Jeff tried to “cut out” the monogram from the back/bobbin side, but people, you can’t merely cut out 10,000 FILL stitches. I gave it a day, and then scrounged up a 10% off coupon from PBK and ordered a replacement. I won’t tell you how much that set me back. I almost drove to Birmingham to buy another one, but it’s a new shower curtain and they didn’t have them in stores. So I ordered. Then I waited.

So friends, about a week later, I got the replacement shower curtain in the mail and attempted to monogram it AGAIN….. This time I made SURE the shower curtain was all free from the sewing arm underneath. It wasn’t until I was about 50,000 stitches in that I realized that for some reason, the weight of the shower curtain was causing the edge of my hoop to ever-so-slightly bump the arm of the machine where the bobbin stays. Therefore and henceforth, my B got *off* on the right side, left about 1/2″ gap in the middle and I finally just stopped the machine {and cried a little}. 2 Pottery Barn Kids shower curtains. 2.

Here’s a closeup of my wonky B. There was no salvaging this B. However, the shower curtain itself was still in tact (no hole cut in it) so I came up with a plan!

I decided to create a patch using the white canvas material from the 1st shower curtain (with the hole in it). I cut out a huge square of it and proceeded to stitch a new B in it with a frame around it (outline stitch only). This time I used the MWP Pharmacy B which is not as thick, and I had Jeff digitize a custom sized Frame Patch 2. Again, I only stitched the outline stitch of the frame plus the fill stitch B. I would use this “patch” and applique it in to the 2nd shower curtain. Hang with me! I know this is hard to follow….

Once it was done, I removed the stabilizer (solvy on top) and trimmed closely AROUND the frame outline stitch. The outline stitch would be use as my placement guide on the 2nd shower curtain.

Sorry this photo is fuzzy, but I hooped the 2nd shower curtain with the messed up B on it, with the messed up B centered in the hoop as closely as I could get it. I then stitched another outline stitch of my frame patch, and then REMOVED the fabric and messed up B inside. I trimmed inside that outline stitch and closely. After I cut it out, what was left was medium cutaway stabilizer inside the frame patch outline which was also hooped with the shower curtain (stabilizer, that is).

Next… I placed my outlined *new* B “patch” that I stitched alone and lined up the outline stitches of the frame. I used some temporary spray adhesive to stick the patch down and made sure the outline stitches of the frame patch lined up with one another. I then stitched a tackdown stitch, which tacked the patch in place.

Lastly, I stitched the satin stitch around the frame patch, which created an applique patch of the new B! Did I lose you?

Here is the finished product! I think it turned out great and saved me from buying ANOTHER shower curtain! So 2 shower curtains and $$.$$ later, I think I have decided that I am retiring from the shower curtain monogramming business. UNLESS… it’s something like a 3 letter monogram or something not quite as huge as this B. In hindsight, I should have sewn an applique “B” using red fabric, instead of an 80,000+ stitch count fill stitch letter. Live and learn.

Thank you to all of my Instagram followers who liked, commented, prayed and cried with me over this saga of an embroidery job. By the way, I let my customer know what was going on all along the way. She was super sweet and felt super sorry for me. I honestly like how the {B inside the frame} turned out better than just a plain B!

In other news, here are several new designs I listed a couple of days ago! We haven’t done a “Stitch” the dog design in a long time, so I was excited about the Halloween Stitch! I also adore this Puppy and love the fast and easy “vintage” redwork stitch designs (Footballs & Megaphones)! You can see all of these at Applique Cafe!

Comments

YIKES! I really felt your pain!!!! Exactly one year ago a bride gave me a Hermes hanky to embroidery – she wanted it tacked inside her gown, & presumably use afterwards as a hanky. I practiced using various stabilizers that would wash away, & I really needed a 60 weight thread but I live in a rural area where it is unavailable. I was so nervous because I knew it was expensive! It turned out well but I spent a huge amount of time on it But my worst was a queen size set of sheets for a wedding gift. I don’t even remember what went wrong…only that I had to go and purchase another set. Why oh why could she not have registered for white or cream – but no, they had to be a certain set of yellow! I am still using the pillowcases as scraps for appliques, and yes I even use the fitted and top sheets on my children’s bed when they come home. They have never asked whose initials are on them, I guess because everything else I have at home IS monogrammed! But I still cringe when I use them & think about it.

Hi! I love your blog. I have the same machine that you have. I recently was asked to monogram a thirty-one yoga mat tote and a matiching tote. The yoga mat tote is heavily printed and I know that I want to put a patch on it. The lunch bag has a pocket on the front that I would like to embroider on. Do you have any suggestions on what you would do? Thanks in advance for any kind of advice that you can offer.

One is an All Pro Tote and the other is the thermal tote with a pocket on the front. I was thinking about embroidering a patch on the all pro tote because it has a busy design. I was thinking about embroidering the initials on the front pocket of the thermal tote.